Md Iqbal deals in stones and garments and is from Karachi. Initially, he had doubts about the trip not happening at all. Now he is confident of coming back.

Iqbal and others like him, who have come from Pakistan to set up stalls at the 17th Industrial Trade India Fair in the city being organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are now euphoric about the possibility of improvement in bilateral ties between the two hostile neighbours.

The participants from Karachi, Peshawar and other places from Pakistan — 14 this time, against last year’s eight—are looking forward to renewing economic, social and cultural ties between the peoples of the two countries and a consequent boost in trade.

“This is a big opportunity for traders of the two countries to increase the volume of business. We want to do more trade with India,” Iqbal said. He is the only Pakistani stall-owner — his shop, Salim Associates, sells onyx objects — who has taken part in the fair for the last five years. Even during the Kargil war, when relations between the two countries reached their nadir, Iqbal managed to be his country’s sole representative.

“I want to visit the Calcutta fair all my life. I feel as if I am home,” he said. Iqbal says he receives many gifts from his Indian friends and, even after the fair gets over, continues to receive invitations.

Most of the traders, who have set up stalls, had taken part in a similar fair at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan in November. The men and women celebrated Id there and “we did not feel that we were in a foreign land”.

“Bahut faida hoga (It will be highly profitable),” was the reaction from Abdul Hamid of Karachi, owner of Hamid and Sons. “At home, people are euphoric about the possibility of renewal of trade and commerce with India,” he said.

Shahid Hussain Khan, a furniture trader from Peshawar, plans to supply goods to Calcutta and other parts of India if the spate of conciliatory statements exchanged between the leaders takes positive shape. “With the train services between the two countries scheduled to start, our scope will increase,” Khan said. He feels direct trade should start immediately. “Then there will be no middlemen to take commissions,” he explains. “The language is the same, the faces are the same, only the ties were severed. I now hope that they will be restored,” a beaming Khan said.

According to the traders, flying via Dubai to Calcutta costs them between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 for a single journey. This could be brought down to Rs 14,000 once communication links are restored between the two countries. “There is a huge demand for Pakistani goods here and people throng our stalls. If the price goes down, it will be good for both sides,” Md Iqbal said.